Friday, July 13, 2012

When I was growing up, we never had a fireplace or a mantle! It was something that I always dreamed of having in my own house...especially at Christmas (we always hung our stockings on the back of chairs!).

The one plus about our house is the fireplace and mantle. It's definitely an unique mantle. It was designed as a place to put your TV. With flat screens, this is no longer possible so I had the task of decorating a huge space.

Most of the items on the mantle are items that my husband has picked up on his overseas travels.

The Living Hymns book was in my childhood church for years. When the church finally decided to replace them, my parents grabbed me one as a keepsake. The Bible to the right was my first "grown-up" bible. It's not in the greatest condition, so it's perfect to display.

The lion and the rhino are wood carvings that my husband picked up in Africa. I absolutely love them! It's amazing that someone can carve something so beautiful!

My husband picked up this box in the Middle East. It's beautiful! When he brought it home, it smelled awful. I put dryer sheets inside and eventually the smell disappeared.

The keys are a memento from my husband's grandfather. I think they are unique and such a fun memory to display on a mantle.

When my husband was in Africa, he told me about these wonderful masks. I thought it would be fun to have one as a keepsake. Little did I know that it would be ugly! Unfortunately, my husband likes it (maybe the movers will accidentally lose it on the next move!).

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Yesterday, my husband and I went to see a taping of Bethenny's new talk show. The show is syndicated and only available in a few markets but I'm hoping that will soon change. It was my first time seeing a taping of a show. I was impressed with the behind-the-scenes aspects of the filming process. Every one was super nice and it was a great experience! I love Bethenny for her candidness and I love seeing someone like her succeed.

We were given a few minutes to snap pictures of the set and stage.

Before the show, we were given a private tour of WB studios. It was pretty quiet since most filming is on hiatus. It was cool none-the-less though!

Here are a few pictures that I snapped along the way:

(ER set)

(A building used in True Blood)

(Famous WB water tower)

Someone from the West Coast once told me that they loved the East Coast because its surrounded with US history. I remember thinking...we have history but you have Hollywood! I love seeing sites that have been used in movies/tv shows! Maybe I grew up on the wrong coast?

Friday, June 8, 2012

Once again, Kelly's Korner is hosting Show Us Your Life and this week is kitchens. I'm obsessed with kitchen designs! I've always dreamed of designing my own kitchen! Unfortunately, that will be many years down the road. Since we are perpetually renters, I have been given the opportunity to understand which designs work for our family and the ones that do not meet our needs.

The best part of our current kitchen is the brightness. I love that the sunlight shines through all day. The pale yellow paint color is wonderful.

The kitchen layout is a little awkward and not very spacious. My husband & I often bump into each while trying to cook. The countertops are white tile and my least favorite part of the kitchen.

We needed a small kitchen table to fit into the space and I found this one really cheap at Big Lots. It's actually made pretty well for the price. The rug was added to break up the boring white tile floor.

This is a wine cabinet that my husband had back in his bachelor days. It has grown on me. It's a great place to store and display our wine and wine glasses. I bought the chalkboard at a flea market in LA and I love it. The board above it brings in the yellow, blue, and green colors that we have used throughout the kitchen. It was a perfect find at Ross for $10.

When I saw this sign in a store, I had to have it! I was always taught to take my shoes off after entering a house. Unfortunately, my husband was not raised with the same idea. After much compromise (and with the above threat) he has agreed to abide by my wishes!

My sweet neighbor always gives me flowers that I display in the kitchen. I'm not sure what they are but they smell so wonderful! It's so great having such thoughtful neighbors.

Friday, June 1, 2012

I am so excited that Kelly's Korner is once again starting the Show Us Your Home segment. My husband's job requires us to move a lot. This presents many challenges. I tend to not collect too much stuff or to buy certain pieces of furniture that wouldn't work in every situation. Plus, we are renters so we don't have the luxury of changing things we don't like.

The best part about our living room is the amount of natural light. I love this window! It's huge.

The house is older so the place above the fireplace was intended to be used as a TV Stand. This is no longer feasible with flat screens so it became extra space to decorate. Most of these pieces are things my husband picked up during his travels. It's not really my aesthetic but it works for the space.

This portion of the living room is technically suppose to be a dining room. However, being that it's CA, we decided to keep it open since most of the time we eat outside. The scrolls are from China. The wooden cabinet has old pictures of my family that I've collected through the years. It makes me a little less home sick.

I grew up with all of my family living in the same house for 40+ years so moving around is something very new to me. I've learned (grudgingly) that it's the people that make the home...not the things in it.

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

A few weeks ago, I was blessed to visit Hawaii for the first time. My husband had to go there for work so I decided to tag along. I've been to quite a few tropical locations, so I was excited to try Hawaii. We stayed at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Oahu. It's a beautiful resort but driven towards the Asian tourist market. The prices were inflated and simple things like renting a lounge chair for a day cost $15.

We decided to rent a car and drive around the island for a day. We had the best time! Once you get out of Waikiki, you realize that Hawaii is beautiful and desolate. These are some pictures as we drove around the island:

(North Shore, Oahu)

(North Shore, Oahu)

(Kaneohe Bay, Oahu)

We also took a day to explore Pearl Harbor which included the USS Arizona and USS Missouri. It was very somber knowing that so many people lost their lives on that day.

Friday, May 4, 2012

My name is Shelly and I'm from Virginia but currently living in Orange County, CA. I've been married 3 years to my wonderful husband. I've tried to make an effort to blog more often but sometimes I find myself boring! HA!

Happy Foreign Affairs Day! My husband works for the US State Department and is in the Foreign Service (which basically means that we move every 1-3 years). Most people like to relate us to the military. Although it's similar, we actually are quite different. The mission of the Foreign Service is to "promote peace, support prosperity, and protect American citizens while advancing the interests of the U.S. abroad". I've seen firsthand how these individuals sacrifice a "normal" life in the US to live in poverty stricken countries with little to no modern conveniences. It can be a difficult lifestyle but knowing that my husband helps others is very rewarding to our family.

(US Embassy - Quito, Ecuador)

The Foreign Service lifestyle can be a bit lonely sometimes. It would be wonderful to be able to make new friends from blogging!